Only if you know how to care for currants in the spring, then in the summer you can harvest a rich harvest of berries. Currants just need to be paid attention after winter, but many people miss this moment. Berry bushes, of course, can grow on their own, but without proper care, the number and quality of berries will decline every year.
So that the currant does not freeze at low temperatures, the plant takes cover for the winter.
If the plant was covered for the winter with non-woven material, then this shelter should be removed.
If the shrub was bent to the ground and secured with bricks or pins, then all auxiliary materials should be removed and the shrub straightened, allowing it to stretch to its full height.
After removing the shelter, the soil around the shrub should be put in order - remove leaves brought by the wind, mulch left over from last year, or debris. Only then should you take up spring care procedures.
First of all, everything that remains at the base of the bush is removed with a rake or other improvised means. After all, pests can winter in fallen leaves or pathogenic bacteria can form. The latter tend to be transported to the bush during the first warm days.
Important! Garbage removed from under bushes must be burned. Carried around the garden, it is able to infect all plants planted in the garden.
loosening
The next step is loosening the soil on which the currant grows. In this case, it is necessary to eliminate germinated weeds. Currant does not like neighbors growing nearby, who are able to draw more nutrients from the soil that are necessary for high-quality growth and fruiting of currant bushes.
If the loosening process is periodically carried out, the soil near the base of the currant will be sufficiently drained, well-permeable to moisture and the oxygen required by the root system.
To do this, weed the soil next to the bush to a depth of 15-20 cm. The procedure is performed using a shovel or a deep hoe. The event should be carried out very carefully due to the fact that during weeding it is possible to hook and damage the currant root system.
Mulching
Currant is a plant that constantly needs to be in a humid environment. Therefore, starting from the first warm days, fresh mulch is laid out at the base of the shrub. The latter allows you to water the shrub less often, while retaining moisture for a long period of time.
For this purpose, mowed hay, rotted manure, compost, humus or fresh grass are placed near the trunk. Thanks to this procedure, not only the amount of watering is reduced, but also the frequency of loosening and removing weeds.
Learn more about plant mulching.
Watering
Watering currants in the spring is required for the plant to develop well and strive to produce an increased volume of the crop. Watering currant bushes in spring follows certain rules:
✔ Watering is carried out 1 time in 7 days.
✔ When irrigating, you should not spare irreplaceable moisture for the bush - you should pour at least 3 liters of water onto the root system.
✔ During the saturation of the soil with moisture, ordinary tap water will not work, you need to resort to settled water at room temperature.
If you do not water the currant bushes in sufficient quantities, following the rules, then you should not expect large berries and a large harvest.
The main harmful insect that infects black and, in some cases, red currant bushes is the currant bud mite. During pruning, the gardener should pay special attention to swollen buds that look like peas, as pest females can winter there. With the advent of the first rays of the sun, pests begin to multiply actively.
An effective remedy in the fight against various infections and pests is various herbal decoctions, infusions with the addition of home remedies: infusion of dandelion, celandine, tobacco with ash, garlic tincture, onion peel decoction, solutions of mustard powder and soda.
Most summer residents are afraid to use chemistry in the garden, but if a large number of bushes are affected, folk remedies often turn out to be ineffective. In this case, the use of fungicidal preparations "Neoron", "Sulfarid", "Kinmiks", "Topaz", "Aktellik", which destroy pests, is recommended. Just do not spray during flowering, as this will only scare away or even poison the bees.
The next preventive folk remedy for pest control is the spring treatment of currants with boiling water (it can be done only until the buds swell). Treatment with boiling water prevents the appearance of bud mites, currant borers, aphids, and other harmful insects on currants.
You can read more complete and detailed information about the treatment of currants from pests in THIS article.
Fertilizing currants in spring |
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In addition to watering, the shrub needs top dressing with mineral and organic substances. This process in the spring is an important event for currants. In the spring, be sure to feed the plant with nitrogen fertilizers. They will allow the plant to quickly grow and release a sufficient amount of greenery.
Important! Do not get carried away with mineral top dressing. If you overfeed the currant, instead of good growth and the formation of large fruits, it will direct all its forces to a riot of greenery.
Initially, fertilizers are applied until the buds open. The second time it is recommended to feed the bush after flowering. This is necessary to saturate the plant with substances for the formation of large clusters.
You can get more information about fertilizing currants in THIS article.
Pruning currants in spring |
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It is also necessary to take care of currant bushes in the spring with the help of pruning. In the first warm months of the year, it is imperative to carry out a treatment that allows you to unload the plant from branches broken during the winter, mechanically damaged, as well as branches beaten by diseases or pests wintering on the bush.
The next step is to remove old shoots that are over 4 years old. Such shoots no longer produce a crop in the right amount, but only draw strength for the development and maintenance of a normal state.
The last step should be the formation of the crown, as a result of which, on the young shoots stretched out last season, only 5-7 buds are left, all the rest are cut off. Thanks to this procedure, the shoot will not grow up, but will begin to grow in breadth, forming an additional crop on the layering.
Details on the spring pruning procedure can be found in THIS article.
Transplanting currants in spring |
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It is best to transplant currants in the autumn, so the plant can take root completely, and please the first berries next spring. But if the event is not held in the autumn, the currant bush should be transplanted in the spring to a new place at a time when the buds have not yet woken up.
Important! After transplantation, the condition of the bush should be carefully monitored. From lack of moisture and lack of proper recharge from the ground, it can quickly dry out or get sick.
Read more about the procedure for spring planting currants in THIS article.
In most cases, red and white currants do not differ from black currants in terms of maintenance required in the spring. But some gardeners argue that blackcurrant is better able to tolerate a strong drop in temperature, and is less susceptible to disease. But be that as it may, both black, and white, red currants need high-quality and proper care.
It is worth noting that white and red currants love sunlight more than black currants, but are less demanding on moisture. It should be loosened immediately after the plant wakes up from hibernation. Watering is required, but moderate and infrequent. An important moment when the shrub especially needs abundant irrigation is the period of fruit formation.
Otherwise, all types of currants are similar to each other. The main thing is that the bush receives a sufficient amount of nutrients directed to the development of young shoots and active fruiting.
When caring for currants in the spring in a country house or garden of a private house, it is necessary to take into account the climatic features of the region. In Siberia and the Urals, spring comes late, it is better not to transplant at this moment, leaving the procedure for the fall. The shrub should be sprayed from harmful insects and diseases, as well as pruned, but all activities are carried out before the buds open.
Important! The disadvantage of planting currants in the northern regions is the temperature regime. Flowering species occurs from May to June, within 1-2 weeks. It is at this moment that there is a possibility of a return frost, at a temperature during which all the flowers crumble. The result of weather conditions is a complete lack of harvest.
Every gardener knows: to get a generous harvest, it is necessary to contribute to the good pollination of bushes by bees, bumblebees and other insects. How can this be done in practice?
One of the tips of seasoned gardeners is to pour honey or sweetened water over currant bushes to lure pollinating bees. This simple technique significantly increases the yield. In addition, they recommend planting shrubs near bee hives.
In order not to break the currant crown, it is necessary to use a special stand. It can be easily made from rebar and rods. Another option: hammer a wooden peg near a bush at a depth of 50 centimeters and tie a currant crown to it using a special thread.
Where to buy currant seedlings |
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The Scientific and Production Association "Gardens of Russia" has been implementing the latest achievements in the selection of vegetable, fruit, berry and ornamental crops into the wide practice of amateur gardening for 30 years. In the work of the association, the most modern technologies are used, a unique laboratory of microclonal propagation of plants has been created. The main tasks of NPO "Gardens of Russia" is to provide gardeners with high-quality planting material for popular varieties of various garden plants and new products of world selection. Delivery of planting material (seeds, bulbs, seedlings) is carried out by Russian post. Looking forward to shopping:
Currant bushes can be seen in almost every Russian gardener. This crop is characterized by high winter hardiness, good yield. Proper care of currants allows you to get large large berries. To get good yields, it is enough to follow a few simple conditions:
- buy a productive and winter-hardy, disease-resistant variety;
- choose the right place for planting crops;
- time to prune the plant, carry out watering and top dressing.
From our article, we will get acquainted with the nuances of caring for a culture at different times of the year.
With the advent of spring after the snow melts, gardeners begin new worries. In late March or early April, it is necessary to clean the soil around the bush with a rake, collect last year's garbage and mulch. Organic remains must be removed from the site and burned, because they contain a huge number of pest larvae and some harmful bacteria. The soil is loosened to a shallow depth, weeds are removed.
To prevent evaporation of moisture in the near-stem circles of currants, a new layer of mulch is laid from compost, humus or recently mowed grass. In addition to reducing the amount of irrigation, such work avoids frequent loosening of the earth. In addition, a layer of mulch prevents the development of weeds.
Another important event for the care of currants in the spring is pruning. Similar work should be carried out at the beginning or end of March before sap flow in the plant. If this is not done in time, then juices will accumulate in the places of cuts, which will lead to the leakage of nutrients and a decrease in the rate of plant development. In the spring, it is desirable to carry out sanitary pruning of the crop. The purpose of such an operation is the removal of frozen, dry and disease-damaged shoots. In addition, cut off the branches directed inside the bush and the stems that spread along the surface of the earth.
currant processing
With advice! For uniform spraying, it is necessary to tie the bush, then pour hot liquid over it.
Top dressing
Not every gardener knows how to feed currants in different phases of development. Seedlings planted last year do not need additional nutrients, except when they grow on poor soil composition, and also in situations where organic matter or mineral fertilizers were not added to the planting hole.
Important! Currants are fed from the second year of life, enriching the soil with nutrients, which contain nitrogen. It is this element that will contribute to the intensive development of the vegetative mass.
The first top dressing with liquid fertilizers is carried out during the period of bud break. To prepare a nutrient solution, mix 30 grams of ammonium nitrate in 10 liters of water. The second time currants are fed during flowering. At the same time, the bush is watered with liquid fertilizers, which contain phosphorus and potassium.
To improve crop yields, foliar top dressing is used:
- In the flowering phase, plants are sprayed with a special solution based on boric acid (2 grams of the indicated substance per bucket of water heated to 40 degrees).
- During the period when the ovaries appear, the plant is sprayed with the following preparation (60 grams of urea and 150 grams of superphosphate are dissolved in 10 liters of water.
Such treatment improves the growth of shoots, increases the yield of berries several times, strengthens the shoots of the crop.
Summer currant care activities include periodic watering and loosening the soil or mulching the trunk circle, as well as treating the bush from diseases and pests, and adding nutrients to the soil after harvesting the berries.
The amount of crop watering is regulated by the weather. The first time the soil under the currant bushes is moistened during the formation of the ovary, again during the period of fruit filling. The last two waterings are carried out after harvesting and at the end of September, before wintering. It is best to carry out such a procedure from a watering can or hose, which will allow you to knock off dust and dirt from the leaves and will contribute to a more uniform soaking of the soil with water.
With a prolonged steady drought, the soil should be wetted to a depth of 60 centimeters. On the second day after moistening, the trunk circle is loosened.
Advice! Place a layer of mulch of chopped straw, sawdust or peat to prevent excess evaporation and weed growth. Such a shelter can be laid in the spring.
After harvesting the berries, the soil under the currant bushes is carefully dug up with garden pitchforks and organic or mineral fertilizers are applied. Organics are mixed with soil 1 time in 3 years. The use of potassium sulfate and superphosphate gives a good effect (100 grams of each substance per adult rapsthenia 0 fertilizer can be crushed with granules and sprinkled with earth or added to the soil in the form of a solution. In the latter case, the indicated doses of active substances are diluted in 10 liters of warm water.
Important! Fertilizers that contain nitrogen in their composition are not applied under currants in the summer. Such a microelement stimulates the formation of green mass to the detriment of the formation of berries.
In areas with acidic soil, the berries are fertilized with wood ash, 3 cups for each bush. Such a substance contains in its composition a huge amount of trace elements, neutralizes acidity. A good effect is the use of organic fertilizers, mullein infusion in a ratio of 1 to 10 or a solution of bird droppings in a ratio of 1 to 20 with water.
One of the main activities for the care of currants in the autumn is considered to be pruning branches and preparing the shrub for wintering. The formation of the plant must be carried out during the dormant period, when the movement of juices in the tissues of the culture slows down. The need to carry out the operations under consideration is due to the fact that the main crop of berries is formed on two-year and three-year-old stems. In addition, a large number of shoots can develop on the shrub, which must be cut off in time.
Currant pruning technology depends on its age. For example, an annual seedling needs to be pinched at the point of growth. A similar procedure will stimulate the development of additional side shoots from the remaining buds for the next year. In the next season, the plant begins intensive development of the root system, which contributes to the formation of additional shoots. If you do not cut the interfering branches, then the plant thickens, the quantity and quality of the crop decreases. At a two-year-old currant bush, up to 18 of the strongest and healthiest shoots are left, the rest are removed.
In the third year from the moment of planting, dry branches begin to form in the culture, under the bark of which infection vectors and pest larvae can remain. Such shoots, as well as young shoots, are removed without fail.
As we have already said, the last, fourth watering of currants is carried out after fertilization in September. At the same time, from 3 to 5 buckets of water are consumed for each bush, the earth is saturated with liquid to a depth of 30 centimeters. It is best to moisten the soil in autumn through special grooves, which are located along the near-stem circle of the plant at a distance of 10-20 centimeters from the protruding branches of the bush.
Preparing a currant bush for winter
So that severe frosts cannot damage the branches of the shrub, they must be bent to the surface of the earth. There is a certain technology for preparing currants:
- remove fallen leaves from the site;
- we dig the soil in the root zone of the plant
- we collect the shoots in a bundle and tie with a rope;
- we bend the branches in the central part of the bush and fix their position with a tied heavy object, for example, a cobblestone.
Branches can also be bent in separate parts of 3-4 shoots. In the future, they are fixed on the surface of the earth with bricks or stones. If frosty winters with little snow prevail in the region of cultivation, then the shoots must be covered with a 10 cm layer of earth. Properly prepared currant winters much better than other plants. Each centimeter of snow cover reduces the air temperature by 1 degree.
Video
Currant - one or a couple of bushes of this berry crop is always present in any garden plot. It occupies an honorable second place after strawberries in terms of cultivation area. Of course, the currant is not so sweet, it is difficult to call it a dessert culture, but no one will refuse a jar of jam in the fierce winter cold. So that the currant does not deprive you of a high yield in the summer, it is necessary now, in the spring, to start taking care of this crop. Let's talk about spring care for currants according to all the rules.
Spring currant. © gardenerdy
General features of spring blackcurrant care
Blackcurrant care is not difficult, and spring events also do not promise the summer resident hard physical labor or high material costs. All you need is to carefully remove all the covers if you are a resident of the northern region; water the plant if there was little snow or you are a resident of the southern region, where melt water evaporates quickly; loosen the soil more often so that a soil crust does not form and the soil “breathes”; mulch the surface, which will protect against weeds and become food, and also save the roots in frost and moisture from evaporation, preventing the formation of a soil crust. You should also carry out sanitary pruning, protect the currants from pests and diseases, feed the bushes with a certain amount of fertilizer, depending on their age. It is possible to propagate currants in the spring - we will also talk about this.
It is important to start all types of work with currants when the snow has already melted, the soil does not “champ” underfoot and you can safely move along it, and the air temperature fluctuates at around 4-6 degrees above zero.
We remove winter shelters from currants
As soon as it gets warmer and daytime temperatures equal to nighttime ones, that is, it will be around zero day and night, a little colder or a little warmer, it is necessary to start removing shelters as soon as possible. In general, the currant is quite winter-hardy and does not need shelter, especially when there is a lot of snow and it covers the bushes “with its head”, but in the harsh northern regions, the currant often freezes, and the cold can come to the soil that is not yet covered with snow, so shelter for currant still does not hurt.
Usually, sawdust is poured into the base of the bush to insulate the roots, and something like a tent made of non-woven covering material is placed on top. So, in the spring you need to remove all this, for a day shading the bush on the south side and securing the shading with iron clips so that the covering material does not blow away, and the bush gets used to both the sun and the open air. The next day, sawdust at the base of the bush needs to be removed, and if there is snow under them, then remove it too so that the soil and roots warm up faster and the bush “wakes up”. Then you should remove the shading itself, it is no longer required.
We carry out spring sanitary pruning of currants
As soon as the shelter was removed, without postponing for tomorrow, carefully inspect the bush and carry out a sanitary pruning. First of all, you need to remove all broken shoots, dry shoots, very thin ones (thinner than a simple pencil) and those shoots that grow in the center of the bush, which in the future will certainly lead to its thickening and cause the transition of fruiting to the periphery of the crown of the currant bush, reducing and yield, and quality of berries. Remove branches older than four years of age, they are usually darker, there is little sense from them, and they spend a lot of nutrients on themselves.
When pruning, always inspect the core of the shoot, if it is light green, then everything is in order, but if it is dark, as if rotten, then this is the result of the vital activity of the larvae of either the goldfish or the glass, and this is bad. In addition to the fact that such shoots need to be urgently burned outside the territory of the site, a few more shoots should be cut off: if exactly the same damage appears on half of the shoots, then your bush may be fatally infected with these pests and there will be no sense from it, it is better to uproot and plant such a bush new, but not in its place, but retreating from the former place by two or three meters. The place where the bush affected by the goldfish or glass case grew must be treated with any insecticide permitted this season, for example, Lepidocide, strictly following the instructions on the package.
By the way, if the bush is alive and well, and after pruning you still have shoots, then you can try to propagate them.
Spring breeding currant
It is as easy to propagate currants in spring as in autumn, only you will have to monitor the plantings more often - not allowing the soil to dry out, but also not allowing it to become waterlogged. To propagate currants in the spring, the shoots remaining from pruning must be cut into pieces with a length and thickness approximately like a simple pencil. Next, they should be placed in a solution of Epin, Heteroauxin or another growth stimulant for a day, after reading the instructions for diluting this drug in advance, and while they are soaking, prepare a bed. The soil in the garden needs to be leveled, all weeds removed, a tablespoon of nitroammophoska added per square meter and cuttings planted - blackcurrant cuttings at an angle of 45 degrees to the north, so that the south side is illuminated by the sun, and the “colored” currant cuttings are strictly vertical, so so that three or four buds remain on the surface. In the future, a new bush is formed from each shoot, retaining all parental characteristics.
Soil loosening and removal of crop residues
After pruning and propagation of currants, you can once again inspect the plants and bite zones. All remaining debris from the filing of shoots, old leaves, hanging or scattered fruits in the bite zone must be collected and burned. Firstly, it is not beautiful, and secondly, it can harm plants, because a fungal infection or pests can settle on parts of shoots or fruits that begin to actively rot, which, as they develop, will spread to currants.
When the trunk circle is cleared, it is advisable to loosen the soil and loosen it every 10-12 days to ensure soil air exchange and prevent the formation of a soil crust on its surface.
Watering currants in spring
Any plant needs moisture, but currants sometimes have more than enough moisture from melting snow, so its watering is relevant only for the southern regions, where snow, and, accordingly, moisture evaporates very quickly under the rays of the burning sun. Watering young currant bushes under the age of three years is better with a bucket of water every week, but older ones can be enriched with a double rate of water. Remember: it is much better to use not chlorinated water from the water supply, but soft water, that is, melt or rain.
In no case should the soil be poured with water, from excessive moisture, the roots of the currant may begin to rot, especially the “colored” currant suffers from this, so water it moderately and as needed.
Currant weed control
Weeds are a very important component of currant care in the spring, because everyone knows that it is a shrub, not a tree, so the root system of the currant is located close to the soil surface and is slightly deeper than the location of the root system of weeds, with the exception of the currant " colored", in which the root system is more pronounced in the core part, so it tolerates clogging more easily. It is better to remove weeds immediately after they appear, the sooner you do this, the better. It's great if you can combine weed removal with watering (after watering) or if you can remove weeds after rain. Pulling out weeds, if there are few currant bushes on your site, you can manually, and if there are more than a dozen plants, then it is better to use a hoe for this, while trying to deepen it into the soil a couple of centimeters in order to cut off not so much the leaf mass of the weed, but also part of it underground stem.
Cleaning and improving the structure of the soil in the zone of the currant bush. © gardeners world
Spring fertilization for currants
Spring is a great time to enrich the soil occupied by currants with fertilizers. In the spring, you can and should use complex fertilizers containing all the necessary elements. For example, an excellent fertilizer that has proven itself very well in experimental plantations of various varieties of currants is nitroammofoska. It can be applied dry in the spring. For a bush over three years old, it is permissible to use a nitroammophoska matchbox without a slide, for younger plants - half a matchbox. The order of application is as follows: first, we rid the trunk circle, one and a half meters in diameter, from weeds, then loosen the soil to a depth of a couple of centimeters, pour a bucket of water, sprinkle the fertilizer evenly and plant the fertilizer into the soil with the back of the rake. Next, you can carry out mulching.
Spring soil mulching
After weeding, watering, loosening and fertilizing, it's time to mulch the soil surface in the currant bite zone. It is best to use humus for this - it enriches the soil with nutrition, retains moisture and prevents it from evaporating, inhibits the growth of weeds and even protects the roots from sudden cold snaps, if any. It is better not to use sawdust, they can acidify the soil, but peat cannot be used at all as mulch for currants - it can lead to severe acidification. A layer of mulch as humus should be equal to a couple of centimeters.
Prevention and control of diseases and pests on currants in spring
Of the preventive measures, the simplest is watering the bushes with boiling water, but in order not to burn the plants, it is better to boil the kettle at home, pour boiling water into a watering can and water the bush well with hot water (not boiling water). They say that it helps against pests and ovipositors hiding in secluded corners.
From a fungal infection, preventive treatments with copper-containing preparations help, this is 2% Bordeaux mixture, 2.5% copper sulfate, HOM, OxyHOM, and so on.
You can also use approved chemicals in strict accordance with the instructions on the package; so, from powdery mildew, Thiovit Jet® (80%) will help, from the sphere library - Topaz. If, when examining the bushes, you notice that a number of buds are very swollen, this means that a bud mite has settled in them. With a small number of such buds, no more than 20%, you can simply cut them off and burn them, and if there are more than half of the buds, then it is better to treat the bushes with Fitoverm (0.2%); from the aphids, which immediately appear on only blossoming leaves, Antitlin will help, from the leaflet - Kinmiks, you can try to cope with Bitoxibacillin treatments with moths and moths.
The subtleties of spring care for "colored" currants
Colored currant is less demanding on the presence of moisture in the soil, it is more drought-resistant, so it can be watered in spring twice as rarely or with the same intensity, but halving the volume of irrigation water.
Read more about the features of colored currants in the material:
Loosening of colored currants due to the deeper location of the roots can be carried out to a depth of 4-5 centimeters, and for a greater effect, it is still better to apply fertilizers dissolved in water, even nitroammophoska, under such currants.
With the necessary spring transplantation of “colored” currants, consider the more pivotal nature of the location of the roots, so try to dig a hole twice as deep.
These simple spring tricks will allow you to get high yields of currants.
At the end of winter, gardeners begin caring for their plants. During the end of winter and the beginning of spring, it is very important to take care of fruit-bearing shrubs, almost more important than in autumn. After all, everyone who grows berry bushes is waiting for a bountiful harvest. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to carry out a series of spring works. And what exactly needs to be done, we will tell you.
Processing currant bushes
Before proceeding with the cleaning of pests, it is necessary to determine the enemy, because what exactly to spray the plant depends on the type of pest or disease.
What to spray?
To protect plants from powdery mildew, you need to regularly spray the soil and the bushes themselves with foundationazole (15 grams per 10 liters of water), copper sulfate is also used for these purposes (10 liters - 100 grams).
To prevent infection with a fungus, an ash solution or a Bordeaux mixture is used.
It is very important before using a new drug - carefully read the instructions! If you exceed the required concentration, then this will not lead to a quick recovery of the bush, but will damage, first of all, the plant and you may be left completely without a crop.
Pruning currant bushes
We start with a thorough cleaning of the bushes. To do this, we cut off broken, damaged by diseases and simply dry branches. We do this so that the bush does not waste energy on those branches that will no longer bring us a crop. Next, we cut off those parts that were tightly pressed to the ground under the weight of snow in winter. We examine the end of each shoot and, if there are frozen, cut off to a healthy kidney. At the end of all this, you will have an average of 15 healthy branches of different ages on your bush. At the end of processing, all cut parts must be burned to destroy the pests that could be on them.
To feed the currant bushes in the spring, it is possible to use the following solution: mix 50 ml of complex fertilizer (any kind is suitable) with a tablespoon of potassium sulfate in a bucket of water. For each currant bush, you need to spend 2 buckets, water under the root. After applying this cocktail that is useful for the plant, sprinkle the soil near the trunk with 30 grams of ammonium sulfate, you can also use lime-ammonium nitrate. Fertilizer must be spread approximately per square meter around. This top dressing must be done before the flowering period of the bush.
To get large beautiful berries, fertilizers must be applied during the period when they are just beginning to tie. For this, complex fertilizers are used. They must be dissolved in water, according to the instructions, and watered before the berries appear. To stimulate the growth of berries, fertilizers such as "Agricola for berry crops" and "Berry" are well suited.
Also, when choosing fertilizers for blackcurrants, you need to look at the composition. For this bush, fertilizers consisting of phosphorus and potassium will be more useful (for example, under one bush 40 grams of superphosphate and 10 grams of potassium sulfate).
For information on how to properly prepare a currant bush for harvest, see the video:
Video
We have described the general measures for currant care in the spring: pruning, top dressing and pest control. If you follow the simple tips from our article, then in your garden the currant bushes will always be healthy, beautiful and will bring a bountiful harvest.
After a cold winter, summer residents resume caring for their garden. Do you grow berry crops and are you wondering how to cut currants in spring? Indeed, caring for these shrubs in this period is no less important than, for example, in the fall.
Spring care prepares currants for fruiting. If you want your berry grower to bring a bountiful harvest and do it regularly, the question is: “How to prune currants in the spring?” - will be very relevant. Caring for a shrub is not difficult, but it is imperative to take the necessary measures and adhere to certain rules.
Why do it?
If care is growing on your site in the spring, it will bring a bountiful harvest. Pruning causes strong growth of shoots in the underground part of the bush. Such processes are called basal, zero or replacement shoots. After pruning, the branching and growth of annual shoots growing on perennial branches is enhanced, the thickening of the bush is prevented, as a result, the size of the berries increases.
Annual spring pruning of currant branches will help form a bush and more. This procedure guarantees the harvest. The fact is that this shrub has a peculiarity: basically, the crop is formed on branches of three to four years of age. When this time passes, crops are sharply reduced. Timely pruning of branches provides an increase in fruit-bearing wood for currants - that is, new basal shoots appear.
sanitary measure
Caring for currants in early spring also includes sanitary measures. Pruning is one of them. If there is no appropriate care, the growths of the currant bush will be sick and weak. Accumulation of harmful insects is possible, which can subsequently lead to the death of the plant itself.
To begin with, you should remember the basic rule: this berry should be carried out in early spring, when the buds have not yet blossomed on the branches and sap flow has not begun.
If a currant seedling has been planted recently, its shoots should be shortened in order to contribute to its bushiness. Pruning is done so that each seedling has a couple of buds left. Then in the fall, the currants will have three or four new shoots. If the growth of the seedling is very weak, the shoots should be shortened more, in some cases it should be cut almost to the base, leaving only a stump. Now you know how to cut currants in spring. However, her care does not end there. The shrub continues to grow.
A year later, pruning is again included in the care of currants. first of all, the so-called zero, young shoots are removed. As a result of such actions, four or five of the strongest branches remain on the plant, forming the basis of the bush. It is also necessary to cut off the tops of young shoots on branches, while leaving two or three buds on them. Thanks to this pinching, the so-called fruitlets will form - special fruit twigs that grow on old shoots.
young shrub care
Continuing the topic “How to cut currants in spring”, it is worth noting that when the berry grower is three to four years old, the gardener should act in a similar way. Again, you should remove the extra zero shoots, leaving only five or six of the most powerful and strong branches. In addition, in the densest places of the shrub, thin and diseased branches should be cut. If this is not done, weak new branches will grow, which will certainly affect the quantity and quality of the future crop. Be sure to pinch the tops of annual shoots.
Shoots of two or three years of age must be cut off, while leaving a couple of buds. This will stimulate the appearance of lateral fruit-bearing shoots. The correctness of the annual spring pruning of currants is checked as follows: on any bush aged from one year to six years, about 15-20 strong and healthy branches should be left.
Blackcurrant needs pruning more than other shrubs and reacts very quickly to it. However, caring for currants in early spring should take into account the characteristics of fruiting and growth of the berry. During the first year of life, as a rule, the basal shoot does not branch out. But next spring, the shoot begins to grow actively, but at the same time bears fruit very weakly. In the third or fourth year, this shoot turns into a strong perennial branch with lateral branches. As long as the annual growth is strong enough, flower buds hatch and are laid along the entire shoot. They form brushes with full-bodied large berries. The most fruitful blackcurrants have three- and four-year-old branches.
How to care for currant bushes that are more than five years old
In the fifth or sixth year, the basal branch still bears some fruit, but the growth is greatly reduced, amounting to about 3-5 cm. At the weakened ends of the skeletal branches, perennial fruit branches (ringlets and fruitlets) with shortened shoots appear. Quite numerous short brushes with small berries are formed on them.
Similar fruits in blackcurrant are short-lived, after one or two years of fruiting they die off. Their growth is also very weak, and the yield of branches after reaching the age of six drops significantly. As a result, the largest harvest is collected from the periphery of the bush.
The above method answers the question: “How to prune blackcurrants?”
When buying new currant bushes, the gardener does not always know what kind of variety it is, what taste the berries will have, what size. If you have a blackcurrant on your site, to find out, you can leave a couple of shoots without pruning. Next summer there will be a few single brushes with berries.
After two or three years, only 3-4 conveniently located and well-developed annual shoots should be left. All the rest must be cut at the base of the bush. First, remove the weak, diseased and thickened. At the same time, old branches are cut out if they are damaged by pests or poorly developed. If the basal shoots form a bush poorly, their growth can be stimulated by cutting off one or two two- to three-year-old branches, even if they bear fruit. The basic rule of pruning is to cut off the branches at the very base.
Growth of the current year
For a gardener, the growth of the current year is the main indicator that it is time to prune. If the shoots are weak and small (about 10 cm), you should go down the branch to the place where a strong top or a lot of fruits grows. Now to this place you need to cut off the top of the branch. The growth of the previous year affects the future harvest, it is on it that blackcurrant bears fruit. Care in the spring begins with an inspection of the branches: the fruiting part will be much lighter than the rest of the branches.
Difference between old and young stem
Old stems have gray bark, and there are practically no berries on the old shoot. This is especially noticeable in the spring: there are no flower brushes on the "older" shoots. You can try to consider the rings on the branches - these are indicators of the number of years. If the branches are older than five or six years, it is advisable to remove them, otherwise the yield of the bush will fall.
Rejuvenate an old bush. How to do it right
It should be noted right away that if the shrub is already more than 21-25 years old, it should be uprooted and burned. Here, no operations can help. However, if the bush is 15-18 years old, it can be cut to the base by about a third. When replacement shoots appear, all but the three strongest should be cut out. The next year, cut another third of the oldest branches and again leave three new replacement shoots. And already in the third year, the remaining old stems are cut out. It is undesirable to cut off the entire bush at once, although in exceptional cases it is possible.
If you have not only a black berry growing on your plot, but also its red and white “sisters”, you should know that the options for pruning such shrubs are somewhat different.
We have already considered how to prune in spring. However, red currants also need care in spring. This shrub has some differences in pruning. Let's consider them in more detail.
In general, the cutting technology is similar. However, the red "relative" does not pinch the tops of the branches. In this shrub, fruiting buds are located precisely on the apical parts of the branches of two and three years of age.
